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Two Boys in a Boat Set Off

Luke and Jamie, now just 21 years of age, have just set off in an attempt to break the world record for the youngest team ever to row across the Atlantic. Lifelong friends, the pair are closely linked to Doddington Hall (where Rural Energy has installed a Herz biomass boiler).

The duo aim to complete their journey in 50 days, and have already been at sea for just over a week. You can track their progress here: link. Plenty more information about their journey can be found on the website 2boysinaboat.com.

Luke and Jamie are doing this all in the aid of supporting Breast Cancer Care charity. Rural Energy is proud to be supporting Luke and Jamie as key sponsors in this event. They have set a target of raising £150,000 and so far they have raised £121,461, that’s 80% so far!

If you wish to donate, then follow this link: www.justgiving.com/2boysinaboat. One of the reasons that the boys have chosen to support Breast Cancer Care is Luke has sadly lost a Grandmother at the age of 64 to breast cancer and his mother has been diagnosed with it too in the autumn of 2012 - fortunately she is recovering well.

Luke and Jamie have been at sea now for over a week. This journey should take around 50 days as they row from La Gomera to Nelson’s Dockyard English Harbour, Antigua. The pair will be rowing amongst another 10 teams. Each day every rower will be losing 10,000 calories from the exertion! Luke and Jamie are blogging along their journey: you can read and keep up-to-date about their preparations and the journey across the sea.

The boat that will carry them across the Atlantic is called Maple Leaf. She was built originally to travel across the North Atlantic which is considerably rougher but is now the home to these two young men for the next 50 days. The power being supplied on the boat will be obtained from solar panels and efoy fuel cells... sounds very eco friendly!

Any wasted energy such as heat, electricity and water vapour will be re-used in supporting the heating of the boat and water supply and stored onto a battery. During the journey the boys will have to constantly maintain the boat by replacing the ball bearings, re-wire electronics, taking apart and putting together the water maker and autohelm and removing barnacles to help keep maximum speed for as long as possible.

We wish Jamie and Luke a hearty good luck in their venture across the Atlantic. We are proud sponsors, especially since the boat is very environmentally conscious, and look forward to hearing all the stories about the trip from them. The pair are raising money for an important cause that is close to so many people’s hearts and are ambitious in doing so. If you wish to donate, then follow this link: www.justgiving.com/2boysinaboat.